The World Wise Podcast

Season 4 of the World Wise podcast kicks off with a conversation about African international students, film-making, and storytelling! Until some years ago there were no personal narratives about international students or the complexities of the student and immigrant journey. But this type of storytelling is important because it helps add context to the numbers and statistics that we are all familiar with. Just this year, over 50,000 students from sub-Saharan Africa studied in the U.S., a record increase over past years. But how much do we really know about the lives and stories behind those numbers? In this episode we go behind the scenes of the lives of African students in the U.S. with filmmaker, Arthur Musah, to discuss his latest and award-winning film, Brief Tender Light.

Episode themes:

• Arthur’s vision for Brief Tender Light and why it is a film that tells a “modern African story”
• Arthur’s family's history of studying abroad and how mobility patterns and the African diaspora have shifted over time
• The film’s themes of youthful idealism and the sense of responsibility that international students carry with them, and how this evolves as they navigate their journeys as immigrants
• How African international students navigate race and their own identities in the U.S.
• How we change once we leave home and how the experience of studying abroad is both about learning, unlearning, and re-learning
• The distance from home, the overwhelming disconnection, and the emotional, social, and psychological toll that international students pay in exchange for pursuing their American Dream and how this affects their mental health and well-being 
• Arthur’s journey from being an engineering student to becoming an artist and filmmaker.
• With almost half the world’s young talent coming from Africa by 2030, what Arthur wants American colleges and universities to take away from his film.

Episode Resources

• Learn about the PBS release of Brief Tender Light
• Follow ⁠⁠Arthur and his film company on LinkedIn, X and Instagram 
• Listen to these episodes about Africa and African students, and about film-making: episode 7; episode 13; episode 27; and episode 10 
• My book:  ⁠⁠America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for ⁠⁠America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration⁠⁠
• Connect with me: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠Instagram
  

In this episode, I return to one of my favorite topics: gender issues except that this time around, we focus on global women’s health issues and particularly reproductive issues. This episode’s guest is very special because she has not only impacted the lives of thousands of girls and women around the world, but she is also a former international student from India. Zubaida Bai is the president and CEO of Grameen Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC. She is a social entrepreneur and women's health advocate with more than 18 years in the social impact space. She is the founder of Ayzh®, a social enterprise based in India that designs vital healthcare products to improve the health and happiness of women and girls across their reproductive lives. Bai has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Maternal Health Champion by Ashoka, a TED Fellow/ Speaker, and named a United Nations SDG 3 Pioneer by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). She is a Visiting Social Innovator with Harvard University’s Social Innovative Change Initiative (SICI) and a member of the Governing Body at SEMA (Shaping Equitable Market Access) for Reproductive Health.

Episode Themes:

• Zubaida’s journey as a first-generation college student in India to becoming an international student 

• How Zubaida’s international education experience in Sweden and the US transformed her and her thinking around women’s health issues

• Connecting the dots between engineering and social entrepreneurship

• What Zubaida’s leadership of the Grameen Foundation and her hopes for leading the organization into its next 25 years and beyond

• In addition to health, what are the most pressing issues that we need to address when it comes to girls and women in Global South countries?

• Zubaida’s views on the current global situation around women’s reproductive rights

• Zubaid’s experiences as a woman leader from the Global South and her advice for young women embarking on the path of social entrepreneurship and who want to create social impact

Episode Resources:

• Follow ⁠⁠Zubaida on LinkedIn 

• Listen to Zubaida’s TED Talk here.

• My book:  ⁠⁠America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

• Sign up for ⁠⁠America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration⁠⁠

• Connect with me: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X⁠⁠, ⁠Instagram

If you’re someone who has aspired to study in the U.S. then you’re probably familiar with the range of admissions tests you likely had to consider or take. These might include the TOEFL, or the Test of English as a Foreign Language, to assess someone’s English proficiency for university study, immigration and more, and that is accepted by more than 10,000 organizations in 130 countries, including top English-speaking universities worldwide. More than 30 million people have taken the TOEFL test. And then there is the GRE test, the world’s most widely used admissions test for graduate and professional school. Just over 341,000 people took the GRE admissions test between 2021 and 2022 and 75% of them were outside the U.S., and many of them from India. This episode’s guest is Rohit Sharma, Senior Vice President for Global Higher Education and Workskills at ETS—or the Educational Testing Service—the U.S.-based organization that conducts these important tests. Rohit is himself a former international student from India and now oversees ETS’s engagement in international higher education and also its new focus on upskilling and skill development for adult workers. Prior to joining ETS in 2022, Rohit has held senior leadership roles across higher education, training, certification and workforce development sectors, with over two decades of international experience covering more than 25 countries and jurisdictions. In today’s conversation we talk about the value of international students and why ETS is at the forefront of fostering student mobility; how tests like the GRE aim to be responsive to a diverse and global student population; and yes—the topic on everyone’s minds these days—how AI will affect testing and assessment.

Episode Themes:

• Rohit’s own journey of taking ETS tests when coming to the U.S. to study and now coming full circle to work for the world’s largest testing and assessment organization
• Why ETS is focused on keeping the door open to international students in the U.S.
• How ETS ensures that its tests are fair, unbiased, and culturally sensitive for test-takers from diverse backgrounds
• ETS’s new focus on  upskilling and reskilling adults and why it matters
• How AI will affect the future of testing and assessment
• When it comes to higher education or jobs, what excites Rohit the most about this particular moment in time

Episode Resources:

• Follow ⁠Rohit⁠ on LinkedIn

• Check out MPOWER Financing's ⁠Social Impact Report⁠

• My book:  ⁠America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibilit⁠y

• Sign up for ⁠America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration⁠

• Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Twitter⁠, Instagram

Episode sponsor:

This episode was made possible by the generous support of ⁠MPOWER Financing⁠ which provides no-cosigner loans and scholarships for international, DACA, and refugee students. Headquartered in Washington DC, MPOWER has to date helped tens of thousands of students fund their educational dreams and journeys.

This episode’s guest is Parimala (“Pari”) Lennartz, VP of Engineering at MPOWER Financing which is also the generous sponsor of this episode. Pari is a widely recognized woman leader in the Financial Technology (Fintech) industry, was recently named to a list of top women in the Fintech industry by The Fintech Times, and is also a vocal advocate for increasing the number of girls and women who pursue STEM fields.

Episode themes:

• Pari’s personal and professional journey as a STEM student in India, to coming to the U.S. as an international student, and to eventually becoming the VP of Engineering at a major Fintech firm
• The persistent “leaky pipeline” due to which women continue to drop out of engineering education and careers
• How MPOWER’s loan model is having a unique impact on female international students from Global South countries
• When it comes to STEM education and careers, do women in emerging markets or Global South countries face more challenges than their counterparts in the U.S.?
• As a top woman leader in the Fintech industry, what Pari is doing to advance gender parity in STEM, and her excellent educational and professional advice for girls and women who dream of being scientists and engineers

Episode Resources:

• Follow Pari and MPOWER Financing on LinkedIn

• Read Pari’s op-ed in CEO World Magazine

• Listen to Episode 12 with Gloria Blackwell of AAUW and Episode 14 with Fereshteh Forough of Code to Inspire

• Check out MPOWER Financing's Social Impact Report

• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Episode sponsor:

This episode was made possible by the generous support of MPOWER Financing which provides no-cosigner loans and scholarships for international, DACA, and refugee students. Headquartered in Washington DC, MPOWER has to date helped tens of thousands of students fund their educational dreams and journeys.

The World Wise podcast is back after a brief summer break! This episode focuses on student migration and mobility, a topic that we have often covered on this show. Today's guest, Dr. Stephanie K. Kim, offers a very different perspective, and in this conversation with her we move between Berkeley, California, and Seoul in South Korea to better understand how international students—mainly South Korean students—make choices about their studies, but also how universities themselves help shape these choices and pathways. Stephanie is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC where she specializes in comparative and international higher education and researches and writes about international students, higher education reform, and higher education policy in the United States and countries in Asia. She has just published a new book which is the theme of this episode.

Episode Themes:

• The journey between Berkeley and Seoul and how these two cities figured in Stephanie's journey as a scholar of student mobility
• How Stephanie's new book, Constructing Student Mobility: How Universities Recruit Students and Shape Pathways Between Berkeley and Seoul, offers a new angle to the burgeoning field of student mobility research
• Stephanie's journey as an author and on navigating the publishing journey
• Understanding Korean international students--the third largest group of international students in the U.S.--and how their interests have evolved over time and how the pursuit of a global education begins early for many Korean students and families.
• How Stephanie's personal journey as a Korean American has shaped the work that she does as a scholar and researcher of student mobility

Episode Resources:

Follow Stephanie on Twitter and LinkedIn

Listen to Episode 24 with Professor Yingyi Ma

Check out MPOWER Financing's Social Impact Report

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Episode sponsor:

This episode was made possible by the generous support of MPOWER Financing which provides no-cosigner loans and scholarships for international, DACA, and refugee students. Headquartered in Washington DC, MPOWER has to date helped tens of thousands of students fund their educational dreams and journeys.

Why are immigrants drawn to entrepreneurship? The statistics are quite staggering: according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), immigrants have launched over half of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion or more, and almost 80% of America’s unicorn companies (privately-held, billion-dollar companies) have an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role. This episode’s guest is Mike P. Davis, successful technology serial entrepreneur-turned-investor who is passionate about education, financial well-being, and bridging the gender- and immigrant-wealth gaps. The episode draws upon Mike’s own immigrant background and focuses on why immigrants make excellent entrepreneurs and why we should invest in them and their ideas.

Episode Themes:

• Mike’s early global personal and educational journey and what sparked his interest in dabbling in entrepreneurial projects.
• Mike’s reflections on his transformational educational journey at INSEAD in France
• Why Mike has been inspired to found companies like MPOWER and Olive Tree Ridge
• Opportunities and barriers for immigrant and women entrepreneurs in the U.S.
• Why immigrants make for great entrepreneurs and why so many businesses are immigrant-owned
• Mike’s top advice for immigrant entrepreneurs

Episode Resources:

Mike's interview in Authority Magazine

Follow Mike on Twitter and LinkedIn

Listen to Episode 19 with Ronit Avni

Check out MPOWER Financing's Social Impact Report

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Episode sponsor:

This episode was made possible by the generous support of MPOWER Financing which provides no-cosigner loans and scholarships for international, DACA, and refugee students. Headquartered in Washington DC, MPOWER has to date helped tens of thousands of students fund their educational dreams and journeys.

Research shows that children and youth who are exposed to global ideas at a younger age are more likely to be globally engaged and to study abroad as adults. Shaping global mindsets and global citizenship needs to begin early. This episode’s guest is David Janes, Executive Director of the Global Citizens Initiative, a nonprofit whose programs and resources empower young global citizens around the world. David has had a long career in international education, global affairs,
and philanthropy, with a focus on Japan and Asia. He came to GCI after serving as Chief Advancement Officer at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
(OIST) and President and CEO of the OIST Foundation, which has a strong focus on education. This episode also focuses on David’s experience as a seasoned nonprofit founder and leader.

Episode themes:

• The Global Citizens Initiative model and its grounding in research from Project Zero and the Harvard Graduate School of Education
• David’s early exposure to global thinking in high school and how this led to a career in U.S.-Japan relations
• David’s passion for building bridges between the U.S. and Asia through education and how this led him to found EngageAsia, a U.S.-based nonprofit that fosters cross-cultural understanding and builds community throughout the Asia Pacific region through innovative education programs
• Key challenges and opportunities that nonprofit leaders face during this post-pandemic phase     
• Lessons and advice for those wanting to launch and lead nonprofit organizations

Episode resources:

Toward the 21st Century: Education for a changing world, by Edwin O. Reischauer

Follow David on LinkedIn and GCI on LinkedIn

During Asian American Heritage Month 2023, listen to Episode 23 with Neil Ruiz of the Pew Research Center, episode 24 with Yingyi Ma of Syracuse University, and episode 20 with author, Dori Yang

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

This episode features Dr. Fanta Aw, the new Executive Director and CEO of NAFSA: the association of international educators. A highly-respected academic and nonprofit leader and scholar, Dr. Aw reflects on her global personal and professional journey and how these multifaceted experiences have prepared her exceptionally well to take on her new role and advance the field of international education in the U.S. and globally. Dr. Aw previously served as NAFSA’s President and Chair of the Board of Directors and has spent her academic and professional careers at American University in Washington, D.C. An award-winning teacher, she served as the Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer at AU’s School of International Service. She also sits on the Global Advisory Board of Times Higher Education and previously chaired the board of ETS TOEFL.

Episode themes:

• Originally from Mali, how being a "third culture kid" and global nomad prepared Fanta for a career in international education and has helped her be a nimble leader, adapting to changing times
• How international and immigrant-students are faring on US campuses today and what is needed to support them
• The international education dynamics between the Global North and the Global South and how the balance of power is shifting to the developing world
• What the appointment of the first foreign-born, immigrant-origin, woman of color to lead a major higher education association means for NAFSA and its future
• Has the field of international made progress when it comes to diversity, access, and inclusion?
• What excites yet scares Fanta about her new role at NAFSA
• Leadership lessons and advice for women leaders

Episode resources:

Follow Fanta on Twitter and LinkedIn

Listen to Episode 8 with LaNitra Berger

Check out MPOWER Financing's Social Impact Report

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Episode sponsor:

This episode was made possible by the generous support of MPOWER Financing which provides no-cosigner loans and scholarships for international, DACA, and refugee students. Headquartered in Washington DC, MPOWER has to date helped tens of thousands of students fund their educational dreams and journeys.

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

In honor of Women’s History Month in the US and International Women’s Day which was in early March, this episode focuses on three women leaders in international education who share their advice on careers and leadership. The episode also includes a historical look at some of the earliest women international students who came to the U.S. in the 1800s, including Anandibai Joshee from India and three young women from Japan.   

The three women leaders in international education featured in this episode include Peggy Blumenthal. With a 40+ year career spanning international education and U.S.-China relations, Peggy previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Institute of International Education (IIE) and is now Senior Counselor to the President of IIE. Ronit Avni is a tech and media entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Localized, an organization and tech platform that helps connect highly accomplished immigrants in the diaspora with young and emerging talent and graduates in their home countries. And last but not the least: a reflection on challenges as an emerging woman leader of color as well as critical advice for those of us who have intersectional identities from Esther Benjamin, the Executive Director and CEO of World Education Services or WES. These three leaders bring varying perspectives and insights on developing leadership skills.

Episode resources:

Daughters of the Samurai by Janice Nimura

Listen to the full episode with Peggy Blumenthal

Listen to the full episode with Ronit Avni

Listen to the full episode with Esther Benjamin

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Connect with my company, Rajika Bhandari Advisors

When we think of the movement of students and migrants we usually think of their motivations—what drives them and why they move. We think of money and financing, we think of visas, we think of all the universities and countries who want to attract them. But we often don’t talk about the role that someone’s degrees or credentials play in their ability to actually cross borders and be recognized for what they know and have learned. This episode’s guest is Margit Schatzman, President of Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that provides foreign credential evaluation, research, training in international education and free evaluations for refugees. Margit has also served as the president of the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP).

Episode Themes:

• What exactly is credential evaluations and why it’s important in opening the door to opportunity and global talent.
• Margit’s personal and professional journey in finding her way into the field of credential evaluations and the critical role of Jim Frey, the founder of ECE.
• Margit's reflections on the war in Ukraine, why the situation of refugees and displaced individuals resonates deeply with her, and how ECE is supporting refugees, asylees and other people whose education and careers have been disrupted in recent years.
• The development of a National Qualifications Framework for the U.S. and why it matters.
• Margit’s leadership advice for international educators.
• Margit’s passion for making recycled silk quilts that reflect her immigrant heritage.

Episode Resources:

Margit's statement: 1939 All Over Again

Follow ECE on LinkedIn and Twitter

The National Qualifications Framework Project

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

In this week’s episode, we focus on a group of dreamers in the U.S. who have lived in the country for most of their lives yet have no clear path to permanence or citizenship in the country. The episode’s guest is Dip Patel, the founder of an organization called Improve the Dream which advocates for this group of young people known as “Documented Dreamers.” It turns out that many people do not know about the predicament and difficulties that Documented Dreamers face—their situation often flies under the radar and is often overshadowed by larger immigration debates in the U.S. Dip helps us disentangle why almost a quarter million young people who call America home face an uncertain future that hangs in the balance.

Episode details:

• Understanding the journey of "documented dreamers," and Dip's personal journey as a documented dreamer
• The founding and mission of Improve the Dream
• The America's Children Act and immigration reform that would help documented dreamers
• Why we need comprehensive immigration reform that supports both undocumented and documented dreamers
• Specific challenges that documented dreamers face when it comes to attending college in the U.S.
• What Improve the Dream is doing to create change and how to help

Episode Resources:

Documented Dreamers: An overview

Breakdown of dreamer populations

Follow Improve the Dream

Follow Dip Patel

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

The World Wise podcast returns with its third season and also has a new look and feel. Season Three launches with an episode with Jamil Salmi, the perfect guest to inspire us and help us kick off 2023 by staying focused on some of the biggest issues in higher education globally, including how inequalities in education continue around the world despite greater access to technology, and how universities need to transform themselves for the future or else they risk becoming obsolete—or becoming "museums" as Jamil describes it. Jamil Salmi is an economist, development and policy expert, one of the foremost public intellectuals in higher education, and is also a former head of higher education at the World Bank. He is widely regarded as one of the most astute tertiary education experts in the world, and has provided policy advice to governments and university leaders in about 100 countries in all parts of the world. He is also a prolific author and his series of books on world-class universities (co-authored with Philip Altbach) are an essential reference.

Episode highlights:

- Jamil’s global educational journey across Morocco, France, and the U.S., and how it shaped his interests and career, especially as someone from the Global South.

- The uneven and inequitable impacts of COVID-19 on higher education around the world.

- The important role of technology in higher education, and why Jamil has been predicting its rise for several years.

- What is means for institutions to aspire to be world-class, particularly for institutions in developing countries? What are the costs and benefits of such aspirations? The current status of higher education in Jamil's region of origin, the Middle East and North Africa.

- Jamil’s vision for the universities of the future and how they need to change and adapt in order to be student- and learner-centered, or else they risk becoming “museums of the 20th century.” The rise of micro- and stacked credentials.

- The critical role of scientific reasoning and evidence in higher education.

- Jamil’s key pieces of advice for the next generation of professionals in our field.

Episode Resources:

Follow Jamil: LinkedIn, Twitter

Lumina report: COVID’s Lessons for Higher Education

The Road to Academic Excellence: the Making of World-Class Research Universities 

The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities 

Equity in access and success in HE is no longer a luxury

The Museum of 20th Century Universities

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration

Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

MLK's essay: My trip to the land of Gandhi

How the 1965 Immigration Act ended discriminatory immigration laws 

Recommended reading for children: I see the promised land

Dr. Aditi Paul began her journey in the U.S. as an international doctoral student from India and although she struggled initially with the demands of her program, she quickly turned her life around to become a star academic researcher who became known for studying online dating on US campuses. Aditi uses her multidisciplinary background in computer science and communication studies to examine the impact of using human-centered technologies like social networking sites and online dating services. Her research has been published in top academic journals and has been featured in prominent media outlets such as The Washington Post, Women's Health, The Telegraph, Huffington Post, NBC News. This episode features Aditi's experiences of being an international student, of navigating a thorny immigration pathway, and eventually becoming an advocate for international students and of course her new book which is about the current culture of online dating, especially on campuses. But the conversation also ended up being delightfully surprising and funny, where Aditi reflects on issues such as identity and the imposter syndrome, the publishing journey, book publicity, and so much more! This episode is also a must-listen for any aspiring or established academic. researcher or author as Aditi offers a refreshingly candid take on how to navigate the complex field of  academic publishing, and how to market and brand yourself as an author.

Episode Themes:

• Aditi’s interesting and surprising journey from being an international student to being a researcher, professor, and author of an academic book on online dating on campuses.
• Aditi’s transition from studying computer science like many other Indian students but moving on to the field of communications.
• Reflections on the academic and immigration-related challenges international students face and whether they are truly positioned to succeed in the U.S.
• A behind-the-scenes candid look at the academic publishing process and why publicity and marketing matters.
• Aditi’s advice for international students on navigating the educational and immigration journey.
• Ways in which Aditi is advocating for and supporting international students and immigrants.

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Aditi: Twitter, LinkedIn
• Aditi’s book: The Current Collegiate Hook-up Culture
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter 

It is the end of 2022 and the world’s eyes and ears are tuned to the middle eastern nation of Qatar where the 2022 World Cup is currently taking place. This episode takes us on a global journey that spans Mexico, the U.S., India and ends in Doha in Qatar. But it’s not about soccer; it’s a journey about education. The episode’s guest is Francisco Marmolejo whose expansive, global career in international higher education has taken him from leading a higher education association to heading the World Bank’s higher education work around the world, and to now being the President of Higher Education at the Qatar Foundation (QF) in Doha, where he leads the unique ecosystem of eight prestigious universities that offer more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs to students from 60 countries at QF’s Education City, the largest campus of its kind globally. While at the World Bank from 2012-2020, he provided advice and support to higher education projects in more than 60 countries, including his role as Leader of the Higher Education Governance Benchmarking Project in the Middle East and North Africa region. Originally from Mexico, Francisco’s international education experience has taken him to more than 90 countries around the world, where he has worked with universities, governments and international associations on international education projects over more than 30 years. 

Episode Themes:

• How Francisco’s multi-sector experience spanning a higher education association, a multilateral organization, and a foundation has shaped his understanding of higher education issues around the world.
• Francisco’s early beginnings in Mexico and how he found his way from agriculture and agribusiness to international higher education.
• Francisco’s time in India with the World Bank, his deep associations with the country and its people, and the many things that Mexico and India share in common.
• Ongoing challenges and gaps in higher education for Global South countries like India and Mexico
• How the Qatar Foundation is developing innovative models of higher education, and the concept of the “multiversity’
• Francisco’s key pieces of advice for the next generation of international education professionals

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Francisco: Twitter, LinkedIn
• Octavio Paz's book, In Light of India
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

On November 15, 2022, the world’s population was supposed to reach 8 billion people and is projected to reach almost 10 billion in 2050. Much of this growth will be concentrated in just eight countries of which five are in Africa. In fact, countries in sub-Saharan Africa will likely contribute to more than half the growth anticipated through 2050. To frame this in both demographic and educational terms, much of the world’s young talent already comes from places like India and Africa and will increasingly do so in the future. But how do we harness this talent, particularly from Africa, and why is it critical to create global opportunities for African students? This episode’s guest is Dr. Lydiah Kemunto Bosire, the founder and CEO of 8B Education Investments, a financial and education technology platform specialized in lending to African students to attend world-class global universities and supporting them to succeed. 8B is on a mission to strengthen Africa’s human capital by equipping the continent’s future leaders and ecosystem builders to innovate, compete, and thrive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.

A Kenyan national, Lydiah brings to the field of innovative finance her personal experience, and over eighteen years working on issues of international politics, development, and human rights. Prior to founding 8B, Lydiah worked at the United Nations, the World Bank, and leading global NGOs. Lydiah currently serves on the board at WorldQuant University, and is a member of the UWC Atlantic College Advisory Council. She publishes and speaks on a wide range of topics, including on the role of innovative finance in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN and the World Bank in conflict-affected states, and the role of world-class human capital in African development.

Episode highlights:

• Lydiah’s educational journey from Kenya to the U.K. and the U.S., why obtaining global scholarships shouldn't be a matter of luck, and her professional journey in the field of international development
• Lydiah’s aspirations to work in multilateral organizations like the UN and the World Bank, and why so many young people in the Global South also nurture a similar dream
• Scaling impact by investing in the education and future of African students.
• Lydiah’s reflections on brain drain and brain circulation
• Increasing financial for African students through a new Clinton Global Initiative commitment.
• Lydiah’s lessons learned and top advice for future entrepreneurs

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Lydiah: Twitter, LinkedIn
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Art can play a profound role in opening our eyes, minds, and hearts to the world, and to understanding ourselves and those around us. This is also the reason that artists have often been a key part of cultural and educational exchanges between countries, enabling the sharing of ideas across border. This episode's guest is Dr. Navina Haidar, Chief Curator for Islamic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Navina was the coordinating curator of the highly anticipated re-imagining of the New Islamic Galleries project at the Met, which came to fruition with the 2011 and which the New York Times described as "...intelligent as it is visually resplendent." She is also the author of six books Indian and Islamic art. In today's conversation, Navina shares her educational and professional journey; how curating and showcasing the arts of the Islamic world has helped build bridges and helped foster an understanding of other cultures, especially during times like 9/11 and other periods in recent history when there has been a backlash against the Muslim community; and how during these difficult times art can both heal and educate.  

Episode Themes:

• Navina’s journey from a young student in India to becoming chief curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s legendary Islamic art collection, and the role of education in her family.
• How studying and living abroad deepened shaped Navina’s career as an art historian.
• The challenges and opportunities in interpreting and curating Islamic art from around the world for a largely American audience.
• The role of art in building bridges in a post-9/11 world, and during other such episodes of xenophobia. The impact of the re-imagined and new Islamic art galleries at the Met.
• Can art help address social problems and create social change?
• Navina’s current curatorial projects and upcoming exhibits.

Episode Resources:

• Vogue article about Navina and the new Islamic art galleries at the Met. 
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art article: Met Curator Navina Haidar on the 10th Anniversary of the New Islamic Galleries 
• As If A Girl Matters virtual museum
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who is interested in the field of international higher education or has studied it in some shape or form, perhaps by taking a class or by being a scholar-practitioner whose work draws both on the study and practice of international higher education. Today’s guest, Professor Philip Altbach, is widely known as the “founding father of the field of international higher education.” Many of us have learned extensively from his work and regard him as a mentor whose scholarship and ideas have influenced generations of international education experts both in academia and in the field. Dr. Altbach is a Research Professor and Distinguished Fellow at the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College which he founded. He has been a Fulbright scholar multiple times, has received numerous distinguished awards, and has taught at universities in India and the U.S., and has authored over 50 books. In this episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation about his journey into international higher education and his views on where things stand today.

Episode Themes:

• How Phil’s early experience of  growing up and being educated in Chicago shaped his future interest in all things global and international
• Why the U.S. has an “instability problem” that is affecting higher education and the appeal of the U.S. as a destination
• Phil’s views on recent, global developments in higher education and things that cause him concern, especially the growing commercialization of international higher education
• Why universities continue to be important and why a higher education matters.
• Phil’s introduction to India and his life-long involvement with Indian higher education. Is India poised for genuine higher education reform?
• As the “founding father” of the field, Phil reflects on what he considers his most important contributions
• Phil’s advice for the next generation of emerging scholars and practitioners in our field
• Phil and the famous peace symbol!

Episode Resources:

• International Higher Education, the journal that Phil launched at the Boston College Center for International Higher Education
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

Chinese students have always been a source of fascination for universities and countries around the world. What motivates these students and how best to attract them? Are their numbers increasing or dwindling? This last question is important because Chinese students are the largest group of globally mobile students, and the ebb and flow of their numbers can have a positive or negative impact on universities in countries like the U.S., Canada, and the U.K that often rely on Chinese students to make up a large part of their international student population. In today’s episode, we look beyond the numbers and instead try and understand today’s Chinese students who are “ambitious and anxious.” Today’s guest is Dr. Yingyi Ma, a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in sociology and Director of the Asian/Asian American studies program at Syracuse University in New York. A scholar of education and migration focusing on the U.S. and China, Dr. Ma has published three books, numerous articles, and is a frequent contributor to global media. Her most recent book, Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese Students Struggle and Succeed in American Higher Education, also helps us understand the broader social and cultural context of China that has helped shape today’s Chinese students.

Episode Themes:

• Why Chinese students can be characterized as being ambitious and anxious
• Prevailing  stereotypes about recent Chinese students, and key ways in which Chinese students are a diverse group as opposed to being a homogeneous group 
• Dr. Ma’s personal experience of being a Chinese student in the U.S., how today’s students are different from her generation, and how her experiences have inspired an interest in studying education and migration
• How the pandemic has affected Chinese students
• What Chinese students are seeking when they study abroad, the concept of cultural capital, and what U.S. institutions can do to better support their Chinese students
• Being an Asian American herself and a scholar of Asian American Studies, Dr. Ma reflects on the geopolitical situation and the current sentiment amongst Chinese students and families about studying abroad in the West
• The rise of China as an educational destination in its own right, and one that attracts international students

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Ma's book: Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese Students Struggle and Succeed in American Higher Education
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

To celebrate Welcoming Week 2022, a week when communities and organizations across the entire country come together to recognize America’s diverse heritage and to reaffirm that everyone is welcome here, today's conversation focuses on one of the largest immigrant groups in the U.S.: Asian Americans. This episode's guest is Dr. Neil Ruiz, associate director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center in Washington DC, who has spent his career studying the international movement of people across borders, high-skilled immigration globally, and in recent years his focus has been studying the Asian American population in the US, something that resonates with him as he is himself Asian American. Prior to joining the Center, Neil has held roles at George Washington University, the Brookings Institution, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Today’s episode focuses on a large and new research initiative that he has been leading called Being Asian in America and that released new findings just last month in August 2022. 

Episode Themes:

• The Being Asian in America initiative, its narrative and storytelling approach, and how it contributes to our understanding of Asians in America
• Why we need to use “hard” and “soft” data to understand immigrant communities and their stories and how the project has shaped Neil’s own growth and understanding as a researcher
• The challenges of summarizing and extracting common themes from conversations with 264 Asians across the US, representing 18 distinct Asian ethnic origin groups and numerous languages
• How the mainstream American understanding of Asia as a region and what constitutes Asia has changed and evolved over time, and what the Pew project adds to our understanding of the diversity of Asians and the Asian identity in America
• The challenge of cultural adaptation vs identity: key differences between different generations of Asian American immigrants.
• How racial and ethnic identity intersects with other aspects of identity such as gender or being LGBTQ+
• How Asians in the U.S. perceive their own identity? Where are we now and do Asian Americans feel a sense of belonging in the U.S., especially given the recent wave of hate crimes against Asians?
• What leading a project on Asian Americans means for Neil personally, as the child of Filipino immigrants to the U.S.

Episode Resources:

• The Pew Research Center's Being Asian in America project 
• Check out the documentary film from the project!
• Follow Neil: Twitter, LinkedIn
• My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
• Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
• Connect with me: LinkedIn, Twitter

In this first episode of Season 2 of the podcast, I had the opportunity to sit down with Kamal Ahmad, the Founder of the Asian University for Women, and learn about the mission of the university and how it has become a global model for educating some of the most disadvantaged young women in Asia and beyond—including Rohingya refugees and students from Afghanistan. The university was founded on the belief that education for women is a critical pathway to leadership development, economic progress, and social and political equality in societies.

A lawyer by training, Kamal has devoted his life to forging social change through education and, during his career, has worked with the World Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, and the General Counsel of the Asian Development Bank. He is a recipient of several awards including the United Nations Gold Peace Medal & Citation Scroll, given by the Paul G. Hoffman Awards Fund; a Time magazine Award; and the World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow Award. He serves on several boards, including on the Council of Luminaries of the Yidan Education Foundation in Hong Kong.

Episode Themes:

• Kamal’s early awareness of lack of educational access in Bangladesh which led him, at the age of 14, to found a group of schools for underprivileged children. His subsequent journey from Bangladesh to the U.S. as a high school student, and the influence of a global education in his family.
• The early inspiration and vision that led to the creation of the Asian University for Women, and the reason for focusing on women.
• The experience of repatriating 148 Afghan students who are now studying at campuses across the U.S., including at Brown University and Arizona State University. Read the recent NYT article about this here.
• The importance of the humanities in educating global citizens and how AUW is expanding its humanities offerings with support from the Mellon Foundation.
• How Kamal’s training as a lawyer has helped him focus on international development and building a university.
• Kamal shares his lessons learned as a university founder

Resources:

Follow the Asian University for Women on Twitter

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

One of the most profound ways in which we learn about different cultures and countries is through books. This episode focuses on bridging divides and fostering understanding between the U.S. and China through journalism and books. Today's guest, Dori Jones Yang, has spent her life and career immersed in understanding China and interpreting the country, its culture, and its politics for a U.S. audience through her work as a former foreign correspondent for Business Week and as an author. Her latest book, When the Red Gates Opened: A Memoir of China’s Reawakening, is a fascinating and deeply personal book about the China of the eighties and beyond and of ultimately building bridges. 

Episode Themes:

• Dori's journey from the American heartland to China and becoming the first female reporter for Business Week in China, and how the Princeton in Asia program and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins played a key role. 
• What it felt like for Dori to arrive in China in the eighties as the youngest of Business Week's foreign correspondents and at an exciting time when the country was beginning to open up to the world, and Washington and Beijing had just established diplomatic relations.
• Dori's experience of being at Tiananmen Square when the protests happened, which she also writes about in her book.
• As an author of books for adults and younger readers, Dori has consistently shared the message of cross-cultural understanding and people-to-people exchanges. She reflects on writing about China for a younger audience and why we need more diverse and multicultural children's literature in the U.S. today.
• Dori's memoir is also about the journey of her relationship and marriage to a Chinese man. She shares her thoughts on the recent hate crimes and xenophobia against Asian Americans in the U.S.
• Dori and I discuss the similarities between our books, which are both memoirs anchored in a personal journey, but that also include analysis and history. We also share reflections on what was hardest about writing our books.

Episode Resources:

Follow Dori on Facebook

Check out Dori's books!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

Enter Localized, an organization and tech platform that helps connect highly accomplished immigrants in the diaspora with young and emerging talent and graduates in their home countries. This episode's guest is Ronit Avni, is the founder and CEO of Localized. A highly accomplished tech and media entrepreneur and Peabody award-winning producer, Ronit has been named a Young Global Leader through the World Economic Forum, a “New DC Power Woman in Tech,” has won dozens of media prizes, and her team’s work has been featured in nearly every major news outlet and viewed by tens of millions of people on TV, online and in influential settings from TED to the UN, and she has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show! Previously, Ronit founded the media organization Just Vision. Ronit sits on the jury of the MacArthur Foundation’s 100 & Change Competition and the Global Teacher Prize. 

Episode Themes

• How the Localized model leverages a tech platform to connect university students and recent graduates from emerging markets to industry experts and employers looking for top talent. 
• Rethinking the concept of brain drain, and how talent networks need to be global and distributed.
• Ronit's journey from an award-winning film producer to tech entrepreneur and what connects one to the other.
• Different ways in which immigrants and diaspora networks can have global impact through diaspora diplomacy and "knowledge remittances" that go beyond financial remittances.
• How Ronit's early experiences in Canada and the US have shaped her career and work with immigrants and diaspora communities, and why this is a lived experience for her.
• Ronit's reflections on lessons learned as a founder and what she wishes she had known when first starting out. She also shares her words of advice for young entrepreneurs and leaders that are just starting out. 

Episode Resources:

Follow Ronit and Localized on Twitter

Ronit's chapter on knowledge remittances in the Routledge International Handbook for Diaspora Diplomacy

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari 

When we think of reporters on the front lines, we often think of countries ravaged by war. But we can all agree that the pandemic has also felt like a battle-ground with its own share of chaos, upheaval, and suffering. So much has been in flux for the higher education sector over the past few years that the one constant that many of us have relied upon is excellent reporting and journalism. This episode's guest, Karin Fischer, has in many ways served as the eyes and ears for our industry, bringing us timely and candid conversations and breaking news. A chronicler extraordinaire, Karin is a longtime higher-education journalist with a focus on international education, including American colleges’ activities overseas, the globalization of the college experience, study abroad, international-student recruitment, and the experience of international students in the U.S. Karin’s work has appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the New York Times, EdSource, the Washington Monthly, and University World News and elsewhere. She also publishes a weekly newsletter on global education, Latitudes. 

Episode Themes:

- What draws Karin to the world of international higher education, and can we even talk about higher education without addressing its global dimensions?

- Karin's early experiences of studying in the US and how this has shaped her understanding of international student issues today

- How the pandemic has affected the work of journalists like Karin

- A behind-the-scenes look at Karin's reporting and writing process--from ideation to production--and of what it is like for a journalist to report on this rapidly evolving and constantly changing world of higher education

- Karin's reflections on some of the most compelling and challenging stories she has reported on over the years 

- Who has influenced Karin and her words of advice for the next generation of reporters and journalists

Episode Resources:

Follow Karin: Twitter

Subscribe to Karin's newsletter

The Poynter Institute

The Chronicle of Higher Education

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

On this last day of Immigrant Heritage Month (June 2022), this episode's guest is someone for whom all of the issues that we talk about on this show—being an international student, being an immigrant, being displaced and having to leave your homeland, and finding your place, voice and identity as a woman of color—are all lived experiences. Esther Benjamin is the CEO and Executive Director of World Education Services or WES, a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. A first-generation immigrant to the U.S., Esther is a fearless leader whose work has spanned multiple sectors and world regions, including serving under two previous US administrations and overseeing the Peace Corps program in almost 80 countries. Immediately prior to joining WES, Esther worked with Laureate Education, Inc., as CEO for Africa Operations, and as CEO of Monash South Africa, Laureate’s first university in Sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly 4,000 students from throughout Africa. 

Episode Themes:

• How Esther's work across different sectors—public, private, and civil society—and serving under two previous administrations has been grounded in the idea of creating and scaling social impact
• How Esther and her family's journey from Sri Lanka to the U.S. as international students and immigrants has shaped her life and career, and especially her work with WES which opens the door for international students, refugees and immigrants
• Esther's leadership in a new role at the start of COVID-19, and how she led the organization through pivoting and adapting during the pandemic
• The Mariam Assefa Fund, the philanthropic arm of WES, and the critical investments it is making in creating positive change for refugee and immigrant groups
• How an organization like WES embodies the ideals of diversity, access and inclusion in internally as an organization
• Esther's professional and leadership journey as an immigrant, a woman, and a person of color, and her leadership advice for women
• What to read when you're vacationing on a houseboat in Kerala: hear Esther's recommendations!

Episode Resources:

Connect with Esther: LinkedIn, Twitter

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

Immigrant-origin students constitute one of the fastest growing populations of students on American campuses, and now make up over a quarter of all students. Add to this large number the almost 1 million international students from other countries, and it suddenly becomes clear why we need to have conversations about higher education AND immigration. There is no better time to talk about these issues than this month of June which is celebrated as Immigrant Heritage Month in the U.S., and June 20 is celebrated as World Refugee Day. June 15 2022 was also the 10-year anniversary of the DACA (Deferred Action for Children Arrivals) program that provides temporary protection to young people who were brought to the US as children. 

To address these issues, this episode features Dr. Miriam Feldblum, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group whose membership comprises over 500 presidents and chancellors of U.S. colleges and universities who have come together to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform on their campuses. Miriam previously served in faculty and senior leadership roles at Pomona College and Caltech, and has been a Nonresident Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. 

Episode Themes:

• Mid-June 2022 saw major news and developments around higher education and immigration. Miriam shares highlights from the Presidents’ Alliance’s recent work with DACA, immigrant-origin, refugee and international students
• Why U.S. campuses need a comprehensive approach to immigration
• In an ideal world, what would immigration reform for immigrant and international students look like? Three much-needed solutions.
• Miriam’s pivot from a long career in academia, and her journey to co-founding a nonprofit focused on higher education and immigration
• What draws Miriam to immigration issues at the personal, professional, and practical level, especially as a second-generation immigrant and as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor
• The outlook and vision for the Presidents’ Alliance as its membership and work continues to expand
• Miriam is an avid reader and shares her recommendations for summer reading, both nonfiction and fiction

Resources from the episode:

A sign-on statement of support of refugee students and scholars

DACA's precarious future: A conversation with legal experts and advocates

Statement for the record for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety Hearing on Immigration and  Higher Education

Streets of Gold: America's untold story of immigration

We often talk about the many different ways in which to empower girls and women around the world: more education, better health, better nutrition; voting rights. But what if the future of women could be changed by something as technical as coding or computer programming? This is exactly the solution that this episode's guest, Fereshteh Forough, came up with as she struggled with her own experiences of growing up as an Afghani refugee in Iran. When Fereshteh became an accidental and somewhat reluctant computer science student, she came to realize that the key to empowering Afghani women perhaps lay in technology, helping them learn and become financially independent. Through her work and her organization Code to Inspire, Fereshteh is an inspiration and global ambassador for girls and women all over the world. She has been a TED speaker; a Clinton Global Initiative speaker; and been named a "revolutionary" by Marie Claire magazine in their 2016 first-ever Young Women's Honors.

Fereshteh earned her Bachelor's in Computer Science and later her Master’s from Technical University of Berlin in Germany. She taught as a professor at the Computer Science faculty of Herat University for almost three years and in 2015 founded the first coding school for girls in Herat. 

Episode Themes:

• Fereshteh's early experiences of being a refugee and how her family lost--and eventually regained--access to education
• Fereshteh's accidental journey of studying computer science in Afghanistan and as an international student in Germany, and how studying abroad influenced her thinking and her work
• Why and how coding and computer programming can empower women around the world
• The role of Bitcoin and crypto currency in providing financial freedom for women and ensuring digital citizenship
• The important lessons Fereshteh has learned In the seven years since she founded Code to Inspire, and how the journey has affected her personally and professionally, and especially as a woman
• Fereshteh's "wish-list" for how funders and others can support Code to Inspire

Resources from this episode:

Fereshteh's 2013 TED talk

Donate to and support Code to Inspire

Connect with Fereshteh: Twitter, LinkedIn

Girls Who Code

Other Resources:

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

Instagram: @rajika_bhandari

Solving global or even national-level problems is never easy, but what if these challenges ultimately boiled down to a lack of leadership? And if developing the next generation of leaders is then the answer, how can countries go about doing this? Patrick Awuah’s solution was to found a university in his home country of Ghana. He is the Founder and President of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana. Patrick holds bachelor degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College; an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business; and honorary doctorates from Swarthmore College, Babson College, and the University of Waterloo. He has been on various "best of" lists, named by Fortune magazine as among the world's top 50 leaders, and won many prestigious awards for his contributions and work, including the John McNulty Prize, the WISE Prize, and the MacArthur fellowship or the MacArthur "genius" award. His 2007 TED talk on leadership and his vision for Ashesi University has been viewed almost 2 million times. 

In this conversation with Patrick, we travel from his childhood in Ghana to his time at Swarthmore College in the U.S. as an international student and his eventual journey back home to put his experience and learning to work to train the next generation of African youth and leaders. Patrick’s work is also one example of how former international students to the U.S. have gone back to their home countries and have been inspired to set up universities that draw upon the American liberal arts model.

Episode Themes:

• How Patrick’s time at Swarthmore College in the U.S. was transformative and how it impacted his views on education and leadership
• Important lessons that Patrick took away from his corporate sector stint at Microsoft, and how he applied them to education
• Why the question of transformation in Africa is a question about leadership, and how the rise of Asian economies like Singapore inspired Patrick's vision for Ghana
• Can we re-frame brain-drain as a win-win situation and can student migration play a role in preserving global talent?
• The impact that numerous awards and recognition have had on Ashesi University and on Patrick’s work
• Lessons Patrick learned when founding Ashesi University and his advice and tips for future university founders

Resources from this episode:

Follow Patrick on Twitter and LinkedIn

Other Resources:

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

Instagram: @rajika_bhandari

Episode Themes:

• Gloria's leadership of AAUW as only the second woman of color in the organization's 144-year history to do so, and what this means for diversity and inclusion
• Gloria's educational and professional journey and how early exposure to a foreign language sparked a lifelong commitment to women's issues globally, taking her from a Peace Corps experience in Africa, to a degree in international affairs, to working in the international education nonprofit sector
• Since 1888, AAUW has provided over $115 million in fellowships, grants and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries. Gloria discusses why scholarships remain such an important intervention for equality for women and how AAUW supports women globally
• Barriers that women continue to face in higher education and the workforce and how AAUW contributes to the solution through its advocacy, education, and research.
• How Gloria motivates and inspires the girls and women in her life, and her top three pieces of advice and guidance
• The women that inspire Gloria each day.

Resources from this episode

Follow Gloria on LinkedIn and Twitter

Report: Women's power gap in higher education

Other Resources:

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

For many bright students from around the world, the cost of studying and living in the U.S. remains largely unaffordable. While the overall costs of a college degree in the U.S. have gone up for all students, international student face a unique combination of barriers which include often coming from less wealthy countries; of not being able to easily work in the U.S.; and not being eligible for financial aid or student loans the way American students are. Moreover, scholarships for international students are few and far between. How do we solve the problem of affordability so that talented students can pursue their educational dreams? This episode’s guest, Emmanuel “Manu” Smadja has been thinking about this very question for several years, from the time that he first came to the U.S. as an international student. An experienced management consultant turned FinTech entrepreneur, Manu is the Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of MPOWER Financing which provides loans to international students who might not otherwise be eligible for loans in the U.S. or even their home country. MPOWER enables high-promise international and DACA students to get an education across top universities in the U.S. and Canada. 

Manu's decision to co-found MPOWER Financing in 2014 was inspired by his own financial struggles as an international student in the US. Prior to that, Manu spent nearly four years at McKinsey & Company as a consultant and subsequently an engagement manager serving financial services companies, development banks, and central banks across Europe, the U.S., and Africa. He holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD and earned an M.S. in Systems and Information engineering as well as B.S. in Computer Science & Cognitive Sciences from the University of Virginia.

Episode Themes:

• What are the challenges that international students face in trying to finance their education in the U.S.?
• Can market-driven solutions and social entrepreneurship solve the problem of financial accessibility for international students?
• How personal struggles and family experiences can inspire founders like Manu to find solutions to enduring challenges.
• What role can international student loans play in increasing access for international students and having social impact?
• Why female students are at a greater disadvantage when needing to finance their education and what MPOWER is doing about it
• The immigration challenges that international students face in the U.S. and why it is hurting the country and its competitiveness

Links to resources from this episode:

MPOWER Financing's social impact: https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/about-us/social-impact/

Manu’s Smadja’s NASDAQ blog post: The U.S. doesn't have a labor shortage, it has an immigration shortfall

Be sure to check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

Facebook: @authorrajikabhandari

This 10th episode of the podcast focuses on the important role of films and filmmakers as cultural ambassadors and storytellers. The medium of film can be powerful in helping us understand other histories, cultures, and narratives. Many of us form our early impressions—often incorrect or incomplete--of the world around us through films, but it is also films that subsequently open our eyes to the nuances of different cultures and countries. Today’s guest is Kavery Kaul, an award-winning director, whose films reframe who “we” are and who tells that story. With a lively, refreshingly nuanced approach, her documentaries illuminate the complex human themes at the heart of belonging in the world of today. Born in India and brought up in the US, Kavery’s films have spanned a wide cultural and thematic landscape, covering Cuba, Trinidad, India, New Orleans and many other places. She has won multiple awards and fellowships for her work, including a Fulbright to India. About filmmaking, Kavery herself says: “A film can open a window onto a world we’ve never seen before; and at the same time, a film can hold up a mirror in which we face ourselves.”

Episode Themes:

• Kavery’s journey to becoming a film director, and what it meant to make such choices as an Indian American immigrant
• The important role that films play in bridging divides and differences across cultures and people
• The importance of exchange programs like Fulbright in fostering cultural and mutual understanding. How the Fulbright opportunity enabled Kavery to research a part of American and Indian history that was previously undocumented
• Kavery’s new documentary film The Bengali, which reveals the previously unknown and shared history of African Americans and Indian immigrants in New Orleans in the late 1800s, and that follows the Indian- and African-American author, Fatima Shaikh, as she heads to India to discover her family’s Indian roots
• Why women film directors, particularly those of color, continue to be under-represented in the film industry
• Who and what inspires Kavery’s work as a documentary filmmaker

Resources from this episode:

Kavery's TedX talk: When Stories Connect People, Films Break Down Divides

The Bengali film website

Check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Instagram: @rajika_bhandari

The U.S. healthcare system depends on a global workforce and it is common to see a doctor or nurse who is from another country. Over a quarter of doctors in the U.S. are immigrants and in some states a third of all healthcare workers are from another country. Yet, as we learn in this episode, it is not easy for someone from another country to study medicine and persist as a healthcare worker in the U.S. Today's guest is Azan Virji, a first-generation international student from Africa who is pursuing both medicine and an MBA at Harvard University. With prior degrees from Yale, Azan is the co-founder of F-1 Doctors, an organization that provides mentoring and help for international students making their way through the complex web of medical education in the U.S. In addition to advocating for international students, Azan aspires to be an infectious diseases physician and is committed to solving global health issues, having interned with WHO and having conducted research on malaria in Uganda.

Episode themes:

• The story behind F-1 Doctors and how it fills a critical gap for international students in medicine
• How Azan’s experience of growing up in Tanzania exposed him to the lack of healthcare and how it inspired him to pursue medicine and specialize in infectious diseases
• The challenges that foreign-born medical students and professionals face in the U.S despite the national shortage of doctors and nurses
• How Azan navigated the personal and professional challenge of being an international student and away from him family during the peak of COVID-19
• How Azan used music to connect and educate his community and country about the pandemic. BONUS: Listen to his rap/hip-hop song!
• Brain-drain in Africa and how immigrant physicians give back to their home countries
• Azan’s three wishes for national-level change in the U.S that would make things easier for international students

Resources:

Connect with Azan: LinkedIn 

New American Economy report on immigrant healthcare workers during COVID-19

Harvard Gazette story about F-1 Doctors

AAMC report on physician shortages in the U.S.

Azan's song, Corona Tutaishinda

Carnegie Corporation's African Diaspora Fellowship Program

Check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter: www.rajikabhandari.com

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

This episode explores how the arts serve as a window into issues of race and social justice, and how artists have always been instrumental in helping us understand other cultures and the world at large. Today’s guest is Dr. LaNitra Berger, Senior Director of Fellowships at the Office of Undergraduate Education at George Mason University. A highly-regarded international education leader, LaNitra is known for her work on diversity and social justice issues, for being a tireless champion of fellowships and scholarships for under-represented students that enable them to study abroad, and is the current President of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators. Of most relevance to today’s conversation is that LaNitra is also a scholar of African and African American art history and an author of multiple books. Her most recent book is Irma Stern and the Racial Paradox of South African Modern Art: Audacities of Color.

Episode Themes:

• LaNitra’s early influences and how they led to a professional and creative life that fuses international education, the arts, and a commitment to diversity and social justice
• The arts as a vehicle for raising social consciousness and awareness of social justice issues
• The South African artist, Irma Stern, and how her work and legacy challenges assumptions about race, gender, and religious identity, and why she is often seen as being controversial. South Africa’s multi-racial society in the early-mid 20th Century, and the interactions and power dynamics between different racial and ethnic groups, as also reflected in Stern’s work and other art from that period
• LaNitra’s personal 20-year journey of researching and writing her book, and the authors and writers who have influenced her along the way. The relevance and timeliness of her book and how it relates to broader conversations about art, gender, representation, and identity 
• Why LaNitra’s NAFSA presidency is important at this particular moment in time, and her hopes and aspirations for NAFSA’s future and the field of international education.

Resources:

LaNitra's website: www.lanitraberger.com

LaNitra's recent books: Irma Stern and the Racial Paradox of South African Modern Art: Audacities of Color and Social Justice and International Education

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My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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This episode’s guest is Rebecca Zeigler Mano and is someone who has spent her life building generations of talent, one student at a time. She is the founder of the United Student Achievers Program and the organization Education Matters in Zimbabwe whose mission is to match talent with opportunity. Before founding Education Matters, Rebecca worked with the EducationUSA network at the U.S. Embassy in Harare. In addition to her work with Education Matters, she is also the co-founder of the HALI Access Network, an association of non-profit organizations in Africa that work with high-achieving, low-income (HALI) students to access international higher education opportunities. In recognition of her contributions, Rebecca was awarded the 2021 GSE Excellence in Education Award from Stanford University, her alma mater.

Episode Themes:

• What inspired Rebecca to forge a career in international education, and the origins of the United Student Achievers Program and Education Matters.
• The sorts of odds and challenges that Education Matters’ students overcome to go on to elite global institutions; become Rhodes scholars, doctors, and entrepreneurs.
• How can we increase access to education at a larger and global scale, and how can the impact of  organizations like Education Matters not only be replicated but also scaled up?
• The challenge of brain-drain, especially for Africa; how the students of Education Matters are deciding their future; and the realities of returning home.
• The experience of launching a new community school, especially in the midst of the pandemic.
• How Rebecca stays centered and focused on her work and mission and what gives her hope for the future.

Resources:

Read the Education Matters annual report.

Read the NYT article

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My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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One in four or 18 mil­lion chil­dren in the US have at least one parent who is an immigrant and while children of immigrants feature frequently in immigration policy debates in the U.S., the experiences and challenges of immigrant parents are rarely discussed. This episode's guest is Masha Rumer, a writer and journalist, whose new book is Parenting with an Accent: How immigrants honor their heritage, navigate setbacks, and chart new paths for their children. Masha's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, Parents, Scary Mommy, and others, winning awards from the New York Press Association. Her new book combines a personal story of her experiences as an immigrant from the former Soviet Union with solid research and analysis to explore how the changing face of immigrant America–whether it is skilled immigrants, refugees, and other newer immigrant groups–is embodied in the next generation. 

Episode highlights:

• With Masha's family spread across Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, she reflects on what it means to be Russian in the U.S. today and the current backlash against Russians. The long history of U.S. immigration where different groups--Chinese, Sikhs, Japanese and recently, Asian Americans--have come under attack at one time or another.
• The challenges of explaining the complicated histories and politics of war-torn homelands to our children growing up in the U.S. 
• How becoming a parent is a reckoning for immigrants as they consider issues of identity, culture, and how to pass on their heritage to their children
• The complexities of teaching a native language to second-generation immigrant children
• Why education still remains "an immigrant's currency" and is a pathway to the American Dream
• The current status of immigration issues in the U.S.: exploring the "melting pot" vs "salad bowl" metaphors

Masha's book: Parenting with an Accent

Follow Masha on Twitter and Instagram

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My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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This episode’s guest is Aryan D’Rozario, an international student first in the U.S. and now in the U.K. Originally from New Delhi, India, Aryan received a B.A. in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) in 2021. While at UCSC, Aryan also served for two years as the Undergraduate Representative on the university’s "Committee on International Education," which looked at matters related to international education on campus, including the allocation of resources for international education, the recruitment of international students, and their status and well-being. Aryan is now an international student again, but starting out in a different country this time. He is working on a master's at the University of Oxford in England, where his thesis will look at political views among Anglicized elites in Narendra Modi’s India.

Episode Themes:

• The experience of being an international student in the U.S. vs. the U.K.
• How international students from India feel about studying in the U.S. today
• Do international students understand their own agency and how can they better advocate for themselves and their needs?
• The complex interplay between race and being foreign for international students. What international students in the U.S. can and should learn about the Civil Rights Movement and the history of race and politics in the U.S.
• The impact of immigration policies on international students
• How studying abroad shapes an international student’s academic interests, but also their political and social consciousness
• Aryan's top tips for succeeding as an international student

Resources and Links:

My Book: America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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Twitter: @rajikabhandari

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This special episode of the show focuses on the history and evolution of the field of international education; the current state of student exchanges between China and the U.S.; and also the important role of leadership and mentoring in the field. Today’s guest, Peggy Blumenthal, has been at the forefront of the field, helping shape numerous programs and guiding generations of international education professionals in their work. Peggy currently serves as the Senior Counselor to the President of the Institute of International Education (IIE), and previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Institute. Before joining IIE, Peggy served as Assistant Director of Stanford University's Overseas Studies and then as Coordinator of Graduate Services/Fellowships for the University of Hawaii's Center for Asian and Pacific Studies. An expert on educational exchanges between the US and China, her earlier work focused on the development of U.S.-China exchanges as a staff member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Asia Society's China Council.

Episode Themes:

• Peggy’s personal journey of studying abroad in East Asia; her profound (and some funny!) moments of cultural immersion; and how this led to a lifelong dedication to a global career and in particular U.S.-China relations.
• Key historical episodes in the field of international education, including the lesser-known Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program of the early 1900s.
• Families’ aspirations for a global education and student flows between the U.S. and China.
• The escalating refugee crisis in Ukraine and the role of organizations like IIE in supporting scholars and students from different world regions
• The importance of mentoring and key leadership advice for women as they grow in their careers. 

Links to resources from this episode

IIE's Scholar Rescue Fund

IIE's Emergency Student Fund

Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange

Be sure to check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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This episode's guest is Phil Baty, an expert who has been immersed in these sorts of institutional metrics for most of his career, helping shape and expand the Times Higher Ed World University Rankings. Phil is an international authority on university performance and strategy, with more than 25 years of experience in global higher education, including a decade as editor of the prestigious rankings. But Phil’s work at THE goes much beyond rankings, and includes leading major summits and thought leadership activities that engage university leaders, academics, business executives and policymakers. He has been listed as one of the top 15 “most influential” in education and is described as “one of the most powerful commentators, and arguably policy actors, on higher education.” He is also an award-winning journalist, and writes regularly on global higher education issues.

Episode Themes

• The growth and regional expansion of the THE World Rankings
• Why it is important to measure the global and social impact of universities and what role the SDGs play
• Even though they often come under attack, Phil presents four compelling arguments for the value of rankings
• What the merger and collaboration of THE and Inside Higher Education means for the field of international higher education
• How Phil’s early experiences in the West Bank, Pakistan and Afghanistan inspired his international career in journalism
• Phil’s personal journey as a first-generation college student, and the importance of increasing access and inclusion for students from all backgrounds

Links to resources from this episode

Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

Follow Phil Baty on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram

Be sure to check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

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This episode’s guest is Dr. Vishakha N. Desai whose work and life embodies how education, culture, and migration fuse together to create a truly global outlook. Dr. Desai is perhaps known most for having been the President and CEO of the Asia Society, a global nonprofit that forges closer ties between Asia and the West through arts, education, policy, and business. Dr. Desai currently serves as Senior Advisor for Global Affairs to President Lee Bollinger of Columbia University; Department Chair of the Committee on Global Thought; and is Senior Research Scholar in Global Studies at the School of International and Public Affairs. Trained in Indian classical dance, Dr. Desai is a noted scholar of South Asian Art and history and is well known for her leadership in presenting contemporary Asian art to American audiences and in developing innovative approaches to the relationship between culture and foreign policy in Asia.

This episode is based on her new book, World as Family: A Journey of Multi-rooted Belongings, which is both a deeply personal narrative of her life but is also filled with wisdom that many of us can use as we negotiate the idea of identity and being global.

Episode Themes:

• How to develop a deeply rooted sense of belonging, yet remain global in one’s orientation and actions
• The multilayered, shifting, and hybrid identities of immigrants
• Being Asian American in the U.S. today
• Navigating leadership as a woman, an Asian, and an immigrant
• The role of the arts in fostering global dialogue and understanding
• The important role of cultural and educational exchanges, and how one such organization—AFS—has navigated the pandemic

Links to resources from this episode:

Vishakha Desai’s book: World as Family: A Journey of Multi-rooted Belongings

Vishakha Desai’s website: www.vishakhadesai.com

AFS Intercultural Programs: https://afs.org

Be sure to check out these other resources!

My book:  America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

Newsletter sign-up: www.rajikabhandari.com

Twitter: @rajikabhandari

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Facebook: @authorrajikabhandari

Instagram: @rajika_bhandari

• Kostyantyn Domaratskyy is an international student from Ukraine at Christian Brothers University in the U.S., where he is pursuing an MBA and is also an athlete.
• Dr. Bernhard Streitwieser is Associate Professor of International Education & International Affairs and UNESCO co-Chair in International Education for Development at The George Washington University where his research focuses on access and integration of refugees and migrants into higher education. He is the founding director of the Refugee Educational Advancement Laboratory or REAL and writes extensively on these issues as well. His latest book is Higher Education in the Era of Migration, Displacement and Internationalization.

Episode Themes:

• Ukrainian international students in the U.S. and how their campuses are supporting them 
• Ukrainian and Russian students in the U.S.: Separating the political from the personal
• The current situation in Ukraine and the ongoing global refugee crisis
• Challenges refugee students face as compared with international students
• What U.S. groups are doing to support refugee students
• A Ukrainian international student's message for the rest of the world

Resources from the episode:

International education for enlightenment, for opportunity  and for survival: Where students, migrants and refugees diverge

A World of Refugees: The Outbreak of War in Ukraine 

The Presidents' Alliance's RESPONSE Campaign

No Lost Generation

1939 All Over Again 

 A list of vetted charities

Razom Emergency Response 

IIE Emergency Student Fund

Other links:

America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari

Twitter: @rajikabhandari